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Is counting calories all wrong?

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Replies

  • Keto_Vampire
    Keto_Vampire Posts: 1,670 Member
    Ok, with this logic, let's stop believing in gravity & see how that works out...(><)
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    Phirrgus wrote: »
    Being a bit willfully obtuse can also play into it. One co-worker lost 85lbs over the past 2.5 years and is well on his way to being ripped and well muscled. When he hit a couple of walls he had to research and adjust accordlingly.

    I lost the 19lbs I wanted to at that time the same way.

    Another co-worker hired a "nutritionist".

    Day one: Two oranges
    Day Two:Apples

    And so on. Soon he was having dizzy spells, feeling weak etc, but because he found her on the web, with plenty of recommendations, and in spite of seeing our progress and well being, he simply would not listen, nothing, nada.

    He lost his 15lbs because of course he did, he was close to starving. He has since put about 30lbs back on, but he's still convinced it's his fault for doing her plan wrong. He will not listen.

    I don't get it. Besides, I would rather be 15lbs heavy than as miserable as he was.

    Preach!

    And, to be fair, a lot of these diet 'plans' are set up to imply that the person's inability to sustain it is the reason for their failure, rather than that the plan was unsustainable from Day One.

    I'm going to see if he will read this thread. I'm keeping my expectations in check though lol.
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    Phirrgus wrote: »
    Being a bit willfully obtuse can also play into it. One co-worker lost 85lbs over the past 2.5 years and is well on his way to being ripped and well muscled. When he hit a couple of walls he had to research and adjust accordlingly.

    I lost the 19lbs I wanted to at that time the same way.

    Another co-worker hired a "nutritionist".

    Day one: Two oranges
    Day Two:Apples

    And so on. Soon he was having dizzy spells, feeling weak etc, but because he found her on the web, with plenty of recommendations, and in spite of seeing our progress and well being, he simply would not listen, nothing, nada.

    He lost his 15lbs because of course he did, he was close to starving. He has since put about 30lbs back on, but he's still convinced it's his fault for doing her plan wrong. He will not listen.

    I don't get it. Besides, I would rather be 15lbs heavy than as miserable as he was.

    Preach!

    And, to be fair, a lot of these diet 'plans' are set up to imply that the person's inability to sustain it is the reason for their failure, rather than that the plan was unsustainable from Day One.
    I think that might be what I hate most about them.

    These scam artists don't just rob people of their money, they rob them of their self-esteem. After a few plans like that, people are left feeling utterly hopeless and incapable of real change.

    You've just described him to a 'T'. I don't think he even hits the gym any more.
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    This will not end well. Fung is a quack but many here subscribe to his theories. He’s very polarizing around these forums.

    Whether you choose to count calories or not, calories, and ultimately the energy balance that they contribute to, is what drives weight loss, gain and maintenance. You can be in a calorie deficit without counting calories and many who successfully lose weight following some of Fung’s suggestions are doing just that.

    For many of us using MFP, accurately logging and managing our calorie intake - regarding of the foods you choose to eat, is the best way to ensure we are in a calorie deficit or, in my case now, eating at maintenance calories having met my weight loss goals and in maintenance for several years.

    But buckle up this is going to be a bumpy thread.

    I definitely will be keeping the gameplan i just find it odd that a doctor would put that out there

    Ours would be a much better world in general, if education - even relevant education - kept people from being either sorely mistaken, or cynical/predatory. Sadly, education provides no such assured preventive.

    Old person's grumble coming up....

    The internet seems to have weakened people's common sense. I remember the simple advice of from my dear old Mum "if it sounds to good to be true.....".
    Being gullible used to be a sign of not being very bright but just because something is in an email or a video on YouTube seems to hook intelligent people too and circumvent their natural cynicism.
    Did you know that the word gullible has been dropped from the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary?

    Vetting sources also seems to have gone out of fashion.
    If you asked someone who they would go to for dietary advice people wouldn't normally say a nephrologist, a cardiologist or a chiropractor and yet people are sucked in because someone sends them a link or they see rave reviews on social media.

    Ummm.

    Remember "Snake Oil Salesmen"?

    People have been scammed for centuries, the internet just makes it easier to do the scamming so we see more of it. But I don't really think people are more gullible, just exposed to more. Just like it's easier to do "mail fraud" these days when you don't need to use actual mail.

    I really don't think folks were brighter or had more common sense "back in the day".

    Back in the day we didn't have internet distractions. I think everyone I knew, self included, always equated fitness with a workout, whatever form that workout took...

    I kind of miss the old days :D
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    This will not end well. Fung is a quack but many here subscribe to his theories. He’s very polarizing around these forums.

    Whether you choose to count calories or not, calories, and ultimately the energy balance that they contribute to, is what drives weight loss, gain and maintenance. You can be in a calorie deficit without counting calories and many who successfully lose weight following some of Fung’s suggestions are doing just that.

    For many of us using MFP, accurately logging and managing our calorie intake - regarding of the foods you choose to eat, is the best way to ensure we are in a calorie deficit or, in my case now, eating at maintenance calories having met my weight loss goals and in maintenance for several years.

    But buckle up this is going to be a bumpy thread.

    I definitely will be keeping the gameplan i just find it odd that a doctor would put that out there

    Ours would be a much better world in general, if education - even relevant education - kept people from being either sorely mistaken, or cynical/predatory. Sadly, education provides no such assured preventive.

    Old person's grumble coming up....

    The internet seems to have weakened people's common sense. I remember the simple advice of from my dear old Mum "if it sounds to good to be true.....".
    Being gullible used to be a sign of not being very bright but just because something is in an email or a video on YouTube seems to hook intelligent people too and circumvent their natural cynicism.
    Did you know that the word gullible has been dropped from the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary?

    Vetting sources also seems to have gone out of fashion.
    If you asked someone who they would go to for dietary advice people wouldn't normally say a nephrologist, a cardiologist or a chiropractor and yet people are sucked in because someone sends them a link or they see rave reviews on social media.

    Ummm.

    Remember "Snake Oil Salesmen"?

    People have been scammed for centuries, the internet just makes it easier to do the scamming so we see more of it. But I don't really think people are more gullible, just exposed to more. Just like it's easier to do "mail fraud" these days when you don't need to use actual mail.

    I really don't think folks were brighter or had more common sense "back in the day".

    No because they weren't a thing where I live. The conmen were more likely selling cars or double glazing.

    Sorry but I disagree.
    I'm sure the huge volume of data people are exposed to now contributes but there's an almost child-like naivety which is now widespread rather than unusual. There's always been gullible people being taken advantage of course but it's the suspension of critical thinking just because something appears on a screen. It seems to lend a completely undeserved authority.

    Back in the 80's there was a tabloid newspaper (The Sunday Sport) which was famous for their ridiculous stories such as WW2 bombers being found on the moon or a London Bus being found in the Antarctic - don't recall anyone being other than amused. Now I wonder if people would simply pass it on to their social media contacts...

    My Dad used to describe the TV as "The Idiot's Lantern" for the way people would just watch it slack-jawed and just let the words and picture wash over them without any real thought process going on. Sure he would switch the phrase to the internet and social media in general now.

    Don't think it helps that science is so poorly taught now. People simply don't learn the fundamental principles that would equip them to dismiss a lot of the nonsense pedalled in the weight loss arena.
    Jumpstart your metabolism, different kinds of calories.... etc. etc.

    I'm with Tacklewasher on this one. People have always been gullible. The difference is exposure, both to scams, and to publicity about people falling for them.

    Look up Mark Twain's "Petrified Man" and especially aftermath (only one of his little fun hoaxes).

    Consider "War of the Worlds" and how many believed it despite announcements during the broadcast that said it was a radio drama, not a news story. (My dad, a farm boy, boarded with a family in the city so he could work a factory job during the week, and head home to the farm on weekends. During the intial live broadcast, the family he lived with were all up and ready to run from the aliens . . . he couldn't have been more astonished.)

    I could go on.

    There's a reason P.T. Barnum said . . . well you know. But there's no evidence he actually did say it.

    (This way to the Egress!! ==>)

    Some people have always been gullible, it's not a new phenomenon and giving examples where some people were dopey in the past doesn't refute my opinion that more people are gullible and unthinking now.

    You are of course entitled to your own opinion.
This discussion has been closed.